ST. PAUL – State Rep. Chris Swedzinski, R-Ghent, supports legislation for a constitutional amendment that would guarantee future state budget surpluses are returned directly to Minnesotans.
He said this bill (H.F. 4) is an attempt to prevent history from repeating itself. Swedzinski said the $18 billion surplus in the last biennium should have been used to help people manage the poor economy and deliver tax relief for Minnesotans. Instead, he said, it was used to expand government programs and create new ones, resulting in a 40-percent increase in the state budget and a $10 billion tax increase as well.
“People want to know what happened to the state’s massive surplus and aren’t happy to hear the answer is Twin Cities liberals spent it,” Swedzinski said. “Minnesotans don’t think an over-collection of tax dollars should be viewed by the state as a license to spend, and I agree. House Republicans propose this bill so we can put surplus dollars back in the hands of hardworking Minnesotans who were overcharged by the state in the first place.”
The bill Swedzinski has co-authored establishes the Minnesota tax relief account, with the legislature appropriating funds each biennium into this fund to return excess tax collections back to taxpayers via refunds. Any projected revenues that go over 5 percent of projected expenditures according to the last biennial budget forecast will be used to fund the account.
By enshrining the principle of surplus returns in the Minnesota Constitution, Swedzinski said the bill protects taxpayers from future overreach and ensures financial accountability in state government.
“Let’s just make sure this history of reckless spending does not happen again,” Swedzinski said. “Minnesota taxpayers deserve better than to be treated as an ATM for radical spending such as what we saw from the Democrat trifecta.”
This proposal is part of a larger package unveiled by House Republicans aimed at addressing Minnesota’s rising cost of living. The package includes two other bills Swedzinski is championing to provide immediate relief and long-term solutions:
- HF 5 Co-authored by Swedzinski repeals a retail delivery fee and eliminates the state tax on Social Security income.
- HF 9: Authored by Swedzinski modernizes renewable energy policies by including hydroelectric power as an eligible renewable energy source, delaying impractical mandates, and protecting reliable energy infrastructure to stabilize energy costs.
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